


Low Key Child

by GachMoBrea



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: (Half Alien), (I'm NOT an Expert in the World of Loki), AU, Aliens, Alternate Universe, Barista!Winn, Coffee, Comic Universe Crossover, Crossover, DEO - Freeform, Friendship, Gen, Gender Changing Character, Getting a Job, Girl!Winn, His real Dad is Loki, I don't know..., INSUFFICIENT ENDING!!, Kara & Winn are Besties Forever, MANY Inside (Movie Reference) Jokes, Marvel & DC, Mjolnir - Freeform, My brain is odd, NO POD!, Noonan's, OOC, Open Ending..., Relationship Advice, SO Very Slow it HURTS..., Slight Manipulation of Comic Book Characters (Perhaps), Slightly Episode Related, Spoiler Tags!, Then quitting after one day..., WIP, Winn is an Alien, Work In Progress, blah, slow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-11 02:42:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7872901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winn hasn't been completely truthful about his parentage. He's let the world assume what they would when looking into his life. He allowed the glitch in truth to remain a secret. </p>
<p>Until Non and Indigo showed up with the Myriad brainwashing machine and messed everything up...</p>
<p>*(I didn't know what other Fandom to add for Loki, so I just left if blank. BUT, I am envisioning Tom Hiddleston's version. From the Avengers/Thor movies. WITH ONE Comic Book Change...)*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Winn has a secret. Not an 'I took the last donut' secret or even an 'I broke your iPod' secret. He has a deep, sort of dark, extremely well kept secret of some importance.  
Well, he HAD a secret. Before that Non guy showed up with that brainwashing machine of his and ruined everything.

 

Winn groans at the zombie coworkers surrounding him. They've all got their faces glued to computers typing alien characters down like they were raised for it.  
'Is that what I look like when I'm writing code?' he briefly thinks as he tries to come up with a way to fix his current issue.  
Then Supergirl shows up and he knows things are going to go from bad to worse.  
"Winn!" his superhero best friend in the whole universe smiles as she pulls him into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're not a zombie. I could really use my best friend right now."  
"Yeah, that's me," he answers back weakly.

Miss Grant shows up next, oblivious to the world around her as she orders Supergirl around as if she was Kara. For another brief moment, Winn actually thought his mogul boss really did know Supergirl's secret identity.  
"I thought they were working too efficiently."

Max Lord makes an appearance next and he's startled to see Winn.  
"How are you not under their control?" the genius/billionaire/ex-idol of Winn's asks with a confused glare.   
When Winn doesn't immediately answer, Miss Grant comes to his rescue. Sort of.  
"Don't act so surprised," she rolls her eyes. "I'm not a mindless drone either."  
"You're wearing the earrings I sent you," Max waves away her point, because there really isn't one. He points to Winn, "You're not wearing any blockers that I can see, so how are you still you?"  
Non comes to Winn's rescue next. Sort of.

"Kara of the house of Zor-El," the Kryptonian pauses in his mocking to raise an interested eyebrow to Winn before resuming his monologue.  
Then he sends James and Kelly off the side of the building and Winn gasps like the cartoon characters he watches and takes several steps in the opposite direction.  
At least Kara could save those two. It would have been heartbreaking for his hero friend to endure a loss in the middle of her super evil uncle trying to take over the world.

But while Supergirl is off saving her other two friends, Max spins Winn around to look him over like an interesting new piece of technology.  
"Are you human?" the ex-idol asks, eyes searching Winn's for the slightest chance of a lie.  
"Yes," he tells him honestly. He didn't ask if he was 'completely' human.  
"Then why aren't you a drone?"  
"Higher brain function?" Winn offers with a shrug, stepping away from the man. Max just follows him.   
"I doubt you're smarter than me," the ex-idol scoffs. "And that wouldn't matter with the Myriad waves. You're either being protected by something else, or..."  
"Or he's an alien?" Miss Grant remarks with another roll of her eyes. "Honestly, Max. All that time brooding in your elaborate mansion has your brain functioning at lower levels."  
"Protective of your employee, Cat?" Max turns his attention to the powerhouse woman. "Or do you know something that I don't?"  
"There's a library of knowledge that I have you aren't given a card to even borrow," the boss grins. "Now stop verbally molesting my employee and respect his personal space."  
Winn never knew the woman cared. Or maybe she just wants to be the one to break the story that he isn't who he said he was...

 

After Kara defeats the brainwashing with Hope, because of course his amazing best friend of universal proportions can do that, she pulls Winn aside to have 'a talk'.  
She flies him to an abandoned spot on the earth so that they won't be disturbed.  
"Okay," Kara crosses her arms under the "S" of the suit he made her. "Spill."  
"Spill?" he repeats, faking ignorance. "I don't have a drink in hand, what can I spill? Or are we talking about the coffee I supposedly spilled all over James' photo layout when he first started working for us? Because I totally didn't do that."  
"Winn," his best friend tilts her head and gives him 'the look'. THE look that always gets him weak in the knees and unable to deny her anything.  
He takes a very, very deep breath.   
"Okay, so remember that day on the roof when you jumped off and I totally thought you were killing yourself in front of me and completely blamed Miss Grant for it all until you came flying back upwards with a laugh and then became Supergirl?"  
"Yeah."  
"Well, I kinda, sort of have a secret like that," he runs his hands through his hair and rests them at the base of his neck. "I wanted to tell you so badly that day on the roof but I made a promise not to."  
"Who did you promise?" his friend frowns in worry. "Winn, what secret are you hiding from me?"  
"Is there any chance we can keep this between the two of us?" he reflects, turning away from her prying eyes. "Because it's not like I have powers or anything, I just sort of can do this one thing, but I haven't done it in years. It's super uncomfortable. I don't think the city can handle another alien, even if I'm only a half breed, but still-"  
"WINN!"   
He stops, turns to his friend who looks a little angry. 'How long had she been calling his name?'  
"Just tell me from the beginning," Kara pleads with here eyes and gives him 'the look' again so he finally buckles completely.  
"Shott Sr. isn't my biological father," he monotones, unable to think about what he's saying as he explains. "My real father isn't from this earth. He didn't even stay here long enough to realize he got my mother pregnant."  
"So," Kara's arms move to hang loosely at her sides. "You're?"  
"I'm half alien," Winn shrugs. "I don't know what kind or anything like that I only know the alien's name."  
When he doesn't offer it up immediately, his friend gently prods him, "And that is?"  
Winn takes another breath, "Loki."

 

Shott Sr. didn't go insane over stolen toy designs. On his wife's deathbed, she confessed to an affair with 'a beautiful man who looked not of this earth'. Shott Sr. assumed it was Chester Dunholz and tried to get his revenge...  
"We were both there. Me and Dad, or who I thought was my dad at the time."  
Winn and Kara are sitting side-by-side on the roof of the ice cream shop where they got the frozen treats they were eating as the one friend confessed to the other.  
"Dad got so angry that he ran out of the house before Mom finished," Winn watches as a trickle of melted dessert runs down the side of his hand. "With her last breath, she said his name: Loki."  
"I've never heard of that name before," Kara sighs, taking the last bite of her own desert. "Did you ever try to look him up?"  
"There isn't a space phone book or hyperspace telephone network," Winn grins at the thought of it. "But I did try Googling him anyway."  
"And?"  
"There were a few articles about a trickster and some large scale reconstruction of an obscure city. It's all been redacted and there's some sort of accord messing up the accounts so I don't know what to believe anymore."  
Kara waits for him to take a few more licks of his ice cream before asking, "Who raised you?"   
He looks at her confused.  
"I mean after you Mom died and Shott Sr. went to prison."  
"Oh, well," Winn shrugs. "The foster system set me up with a really nice couple. Chris and Jane treated my like their own obscure relative."

They sit in silence as Winn finishes his ice cream.  
Then, in a quiet voice, the techie asks, "Are we still friends?"  
"Of course," Kara instantly answers, nudging her friend gently with her shoulder. "We're best friends, not a married couple. We're going to have secrets."  
"You still have secrets?" Winn regrets it as soon as he says it. "Sorry, not married. Got it. Really. I didn't mean it. I still-Well, I mean, yeah, I'm just sorry."  
"Is there something else you want to tell me, Winn?" his friend asks softly, not pushing for anything, just leaving an opening for the other to talk.  
"Maybe some day but," he shrugs. "Not right now, no. Is that okay?"  
"That's fine," she smiles. "Do you want me to drop you off at your place?"  
Winn looks to the edge of the building, "I don't really fancy a walk right now. So a lift would be nice, thanks."

\---


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning at work, Winn doesn't get out of the elevator before he's being barked at by his boss.  
"BEN!" Miss Grant bellows from her office.   
She might care about him deep, deep, deep down inside. But not enough to actually learn his name.  
Kara offers him an encouraging smile as he passes her desk and through the open glass doors of his boss's domain.  
"Close the doors," Miss Grant orders without looking up from the paperwork laid out perfectly on her desk.  
Winn does with slightly shaking hands.  
When he turns back to the mogul, her entire focus is on him.  
"When your father, the Toyman I think they coined him, escaped from jail I wanted to do an interview with you," Miss Grant slowly rises from her seat, removes her glasses and lays them on top of the papers. "But Kiera spoke against it and things happened and I never got that interview."  
"So, what, you want to do it now?" Winn struggles to know where the woman was going with this. "Isn't that last month's news or something?"  
"I usually don't care about the little people who do the grunt work I don't have time to ignore let alone do but you are my protégé's friend, so I'll make an exception," his boss rounds her desk slowly, eyes stuck fast on the cowering man in her office. "Maxwell is an idiot but he's also a genius. If he says you should have been as work efficient as the others, I'm inclined to believe him."  
"Miss Grant-"  
"Ah, no," she cuts him off with a forced grin. "Don't lie to me Brutis. It isn't becoming to a young man like yourself."  
"I can't-"  
"Can't or won't?"  
"It really isn't my place to say-"  
"It's your life. If it isn't your place to talk about it, then whose is it?"  
Winn frowns, leaning against a glass door for support as he tries to decide to lie or play dumb. 'Which is still technically lying but I can't think straight with her staring at me like that.'  
"I'm waiting, Barnaby," Miss Grant sighs. "Either tell me why you weren't affected or get out of my office for good."  
"You'd fire me?" he clarifies, scared. "Just like that?"  
"I don't like it when my employees keep important secrets from me," the mogul remarks, returning to her desk. "I can see that you're reluctant, so make sure your desk is clear from all your clutter for the new guy."  
"You'll want to write a story about it."  
"That depends on what you tell me."  
"I have implants."  
"What?"  
'What' is right. Winn had dragged that lie up out of the deeper recesses of his mind. Now he had to blather, as intelligently as he could, the rest of the lie that went with it.  
A lie he was making up on the spot.  
"I have implants to make me hear better," he tries for nonchalance but his voice is still quivering slightly in fear. "They were malfunctioning, so I couldn't be affected by the alien rays."  
"Interesting," the woman smiles, but it isn't kind. "But Myriad went straight to the brain. No hearing required."  
"They're connected to my neural cortex and the doctors had to play a little upstairs to get them to take," Winn hurriedly lies some more. 'The doctors should probably play upstairs some more. I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore.'  
"Tell you what, Kevin," Miss Grant looks him over before reaching for her glasses. "I'll give you 24 hours to tell me the truth or come back with a more convincing lie. Deal?"  
She goes straight back to her papers without waiting for an answer.  
The techie gives her a quiet one anyway, "Ok."

 

Winn decides to give himself the day off. If he's going to be fired the next day, he might as well cash in those sick days he wasn't allowed to take.  
Kara meets him on the roof. He doesn't know why he went there of all places, but that's where they met up.  
"I can't do it," he tells his best friend. "I can't tell Cat Grant, media queen of earth, who I really am."  
"Maybe she won't care that much?" Kara offers with a worried frown and a shrug.  
"She was like a bloodhound when Supergirl arrived," Winn reminds her. "Granted, I can't do any of your cool tricks, but come on! A half breed living right under her nose? She might fire me anyway on principle. Or she'll actually learn my name and start abusing it for her own sick, twisted games."  
"She doesn't..." Kara looks at her friend's pointed look and nods in acquiescence. Then, in an attempt to brighten the other's mood, "I thought of someone we could ask about your father."  
"Oh?" that catches the techie's attention. "Who?"  
"Come on, Winn," the superhero grins at him. "I fight aliens almost as much as I do normal bad guys."  
"And right before lock up you'll just waltz right up to them and nicely ask their battered selves if they've heard of some random other alien?"  
"I will not be deterred by your biting sarcasm."  
Winn groans, taking a seat on a raised piece of roof so he can put his head in his hands as he mumbles, "I wish I could go back. Hide or something so that no one would get curious as to who I was."  
"Winn, there's nothing to be ashamed of," Kara comforts him as she takes a seat next to her friend. "I have felt so liberated showing my true self to the world."  
"You're Supergirl," he reminds her. "You have powers and save people. Plus, you're gorgeous. Kinda hard not to like you."  
She puts her arm across his shoulders, "You might not have any special abilities, or the same ones at least, but you're still an amazing person. A person who shouldn't be ashamed of who he is."  
"I'm not," Winn sighs, finally pulling his head out of his hands. "I'm just illogically worried that the whole world will hate me once they know who my birth father is. I don't even know who he is."  
"Maybe he's like a superstar or something," Kara jokes. "He might have hundreds of fans that fawn over the ground he walks. Your mom did say he was attractive."  
"Yeah, no, not putting any mental images of some rock star man with long hair winking at fawning fan girls," the techie shakes his head. "I think I'll just go for a walk. Maybe a little exercise and seven hours of 'Psycho 4: Therapist's Revenge' will help me think straight."  
They both stand and Kara pulls him into a hug, "Just know that I'm here for you. Ok?"  
"Thanks, Kara."

 

Of all the things or people Winn expects to find in his apartment when he gets home, Alex Danvers isn't one of them.  
"What's going on?" he asks her, frowning at her DEO outfit. "Is the world in trouble from a crazy computer program again?"  
"No," the military woman shakes her head. "This is just me checking on my sister's best friend."  
"Why would you need to check on me?" Winn's face is stuck on worried frown mode.  
"The DEO knows that Myriad didn't affect you, Winn," Alex smiles a little at him. "They sent me to figure out why."  
"Are there more agents going through my things?" the techie looks around the corner as he gets closer to the woman standing in his living room. "Because I just organized my socks according to color and I'd be slightly upset if they messed it up already."  
"Winn," the agents addresses him with a firm tone. "This is serious."  
"I don't know what you expect me to tell you," he shrugs. "What exactly are you asking me, Alex?"  
"Are you an alien?"  
'Straight to the point then.' Winn looks to his front door. 'Why did I walk so close to her again?'  
"You're not really inspiring confidence with your silence," Alex's voice breaks into Winn's talk or take-off instincts. "I'm starting to think I should've allowed my boss to do a more thorough background check on you."  
"If I tell you something that you might already be thinking is true, not that I'm saying it is, but if I did, what would happen?"  
Winn stops breathing in order to hear the agent's answer.  
"That'll depend on what, exactly, you're about to tell me."  
"That doesn't inspire much confidence in me," he groans, taking a cautious step back. She follows him.  
"Winn," Alex warns him. "The DEO already suspect something. If you run, you'll just be confirming what they just suspect. They'll have you hunted down like a criminal and no one will be interested in listening to your side of the story anymore."  
"All this fuss just because I didn't become a zombie?" Winn asks the world in general more than the secret agent. "Can't we all just blame it on a chemical imbalance in my brain and call it a day?"  
"Not now that they suspect you," she tries for a sympathetic smile. "Please, Winn, just tell me what you probably already told Kara."  
"I really hate secret government agencies," Winn sighs, defeated. "Fine. Take a seat. I just need to get some Kit-Kats real quick."

He tells her the same story he told Kara, changing his random babblings to sound more succinct, all the while munching on his sugar supply.  
"And now Kara wants to ask every alien she meets if they know who this Loki guy is," he finishes, both in story and in candy. "I hope you can make sure she doesn't. I don't actually want to meet the guy."  
"I'll see what I can do to keep you out of trouble," Alex assures him. "The fact that Supergirl wouldn't allow one of her closest friends to be locked away or bullied will help your case."  
"That's not why I became her friend," he assures her as she stands to leave. "Kara and I were friends long before I knew she was a Kryptonian."  
"I know, Winn," Alex smiles. "Don't forget. I'm your friend too."  
For the first time since he saw her in his apartment, Winn feels relieved.  
"Thanks."

\---


	3. Chapter 3

Winn decides to try for the chemical imbalance lie before informally resigning. Hopefully his boss will only fire him, instead of blacklisting him from working anywhere in the city.  
Maybe he can send a bill for his technical support to the DEO for that one time he helped defeat Indigo? Where does one send that sort of bill? He can't remember where they took him. It was a secret base, after all.  
Maybe Kara can bring it in for him?  
The techie's train of thought is brought to a screeching halt as he takes in the plaza outside the CatCo building.  
The place is swarming with people in black military outfits. DEO suits, to be exact.  
'Are we under attack again?' Winn looks around to see if he can notice the threat. "We just got over the last one.'  
"There he is!"  
Winn jumps when he realizes the "he" is HIM.   
"Wait-What?" the agents swarms him, two of them each taking an arm as he desperately tries to think of why they would want to arrest him.  
'The DEO already suspect something.' Alex's voice reminds him.   
But he told her everything! Well, mostly everything. THAT part wasn't really a cause for alarm anyway.  
"Supergirl!" Winn shouts out as they start to drag him towards a black van. He's not sure if his friend will hear him, or even be able to get to him, but he's willing to try for almost anything. He shouts again, "SUPERGIRL!"  
The hero flies in and pulls Winn out of the agents' hold. She carries him to the roof of the vehicle and stands in front of him as she glares down at the people below.  
"Is it customary for the DEO to abduct citizens of National City?" she crosses her arms. "I demand an explanation."  
One of the agents steps forwards and removes his helmet. The blonde man points at Winn, "He is no longer considered a citizen of National City."  
"Why is that?" Supergirl demands to know.  
"Because he's here illegally."  
"No I'm not," Winn protests from behind the safety of his friend. "I was born here!"  
"But your father wasn't," the man counters, looking around at the gathering crowd. "We can discuss this back at DEO headquarters."  
"We can discuss this in Miss Grant's office," Supergirl says, doesn't offer or ask. "You can talk to us there, or you can leave."  
Then she grabs up her friend and flies him up to the patio entrance without bothering to listen to the agent's cries of protest.

"Well, well," Miss Grant looks up from her phone to look the two over. "Are you two a thing now? Because, honestly Supergirl, you could do so much better than Quinn."  
"His name is Winn," Supergirl reminds the woman. "And we're not together. We're just friends."  
"Friends with benefits?"  
"Just friends."  
"Pity," the mogul shrugs. "It would've made for an interesting side piece next to the herd of puppies that were caught searching the streets for their owners."  
"Didn't you just say-?"  
"What are you on my patio?" Miss Grant cuts the hero off. "The world's not in danger again already is it? Because I was under the impression that classic villains waited a while before taking over where their counterparts left off."  
"The world isn't in danger, Miss Grant," Supergirl looks worriedly over to her friend. "Winn is."  
"Oh," the mogul smiles, pulling her phone completely away from her face now. "Is this the part where he finally reveals his true colors? I tried to get him to do that yesterday but he was tediously reluctant."  
Winn leans closer to the hero to whisper, "Maybe you should fly me out of the city. Better yet! Maybe out of the country? No, I got it, we'll have you run as fast as Barry did and get you to take me to his dimension. I'm sure I can help out with their problems for a while until this blows over."  
"Winn," Kara uses her 'you're rambling too much' voice. "You can't hide from this."  
"I can try."  
"Are you two done whispering to each other?" Miss Grant sighs, face back to her phone. "I have people to yell at and a new tech guy to hire."  
"You can't just fire him because he doesn't want to tell you his secret," Supergirl tries to reason with the woman.  
"My empire, my rules," Miss Grant shrugs. "I don't need a reason to fire him. I should've let him go when he wore that ugly checkered tie last fall."  
"It was a present," Winn mumbles to no one in particular.  
The elevator 'dings' and DEO agents take over the floor.  
"Times up, kiddo," the mogul glances at the intruders with an annoyed glare. "Either you tell me what's going on or get our of my building."  
Supergirl looks to her friend, asking him with her eyes what he wants to do.  
'I hate my life.' Winn thinks, bumping his against the protective railing of the patio as his cheeks heat up. 'I can't do this. I can't. I don't want to be chase or examined or experimented on or put in jail, space jail or otherwise. I'm a nice guy. I haven't done anything-too many things wrong.'  
The DEO agents find them on the patio and point their weapons at Winn, demanding that Supergirl surrender him to them.  
"I'm not going to let you take him," she tell them firmly, standing in front of the techie.  
"Then we'll have no other choice but to take you in as well," the blonde from earlier states with a frown.  
"You can't arrest my girl just because her friend is an alien," Cat Grant scolds them as if she were their mother. "I'll post this story all over the internet. I'll get your names and faces in there too. Everyone in National City will know about the supposedly super secret agency arresting whomever they want."  
"Miss Grant," the blonde turns his from to the woman. "We would appreciate it if you'd keep your influence out of this. We wouldn't want to shut you down as well."  
"Shut me down?" she scoffs. "I'd like to see you mock jockeys try! Bigger men than you, larger corporations than you, have tried. I have nit picked generals with more medals than could fit on his chest. I am not afraid of your idle threats."  
"You are harboring a fugitive that we know nothing about," the agent is starting to sound angry, his military calm giving way to his frustrations. "I have orders to take him in, so I'm taking him in."  
"I won't let you," Supergirl reminds him, arms outstretched in an obvious sign of defiance.  
"Why are you fighting us on this?"  
"Does Agent Danvers know about this?"  
"This is above her clearance level."  
"What about Agent Henshaw? Have you talked to him?"  
"This goes over his head too."  
"I'm still not letting you take him."  
"You won't have a choice!"

As they continue to fight, the flush of Winn's cheeks begins to spread throughout his body. His eyes widen in shock as he realizes 'it' is happening again.  
'No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no!' he repeats the word over and over as he grabs his chest in a tight hold and eases himself to his knees.  
The world around him fades away as his ears ring and his vision goes dark.  
'I can't see! Right, I closed my eyes.' Winn holds in any noise of pain as he squeezes his eyelids so tightly he feels like they're going to pop out the other side of his head.  
His entire body feels like it's on fire! He lays on his side, feels a spilt second of relief from the cool ground touching his cheek before it's taken over by the flames.  
He thinks he might have heard his name but he isn't sure. The only thing he knows is that everything is SO HOT!  
There's another moment of relief, a cool breeze blowing in his face and through his hair and he thank whoever brought him the fan as his body slowly, (very, very slowly), starts to cool off again.  
He's so sore. Everything hurts, from the tips of his hair to the ends of his toes.   
But, if he's sore, he knows that 'it' is finished and he can finally open his eyes.

Kara, still in her superhero suit, is staring at him like he's never seen her stare at him before. It's a mixture of worry/relief/curiosity/a little fear/amazement. He doesn't know which one he prefers to see on her. Probably the relief.  
"Winn?" she asks so softly. "Are-Is-Are y-Is that you?"  
He sighs, sitting up from the bed he was lying on, looks around the apartment that she's flown him to. It's only a matter of time before the secret agents arrive. Better make the most of it telling her the rest of his life story.  
"Do you remember me telling you about a super uncomfortable thing that I can sort of do?" he frowns at his voice, forgetting how that changed as well.  
She nods, eyes still too big for a superhero.  
"Well," Winn sighs, looks down at his new body with a grimace. "As you can see, that one thing is that I turn into a girl."

Kara is silent as she looks at her new-gendered best friend. Even with the short haircut, girl Winn was gorgeous!  
"I thought you'd end up glowing in the dark," she tells him honestly, remembering wracking her brain for any ideas the night after he mentioned it. "How? Is this what you inherited from your dad?"  
"Beats me," Winn sighs, grimacing still at his new voice. "I haven't changed since I went through puberty. It scared me to death and Chris was especially freaked out that he had lost his charge and gained a mental case."  
"So your foster parents knew?"   
"Yeah," the techie chuckles a little. "I have some very interesting photo albums in their house, let me tell you. They only show them to each other. No one else outside our little trio gets to see it."  
"On the positive side," Kara grins at him, slightly excited to be a part of this transformation with her friend. "You don't have to worry about the DEO finding you anymore."  
"What are you talking about, Kara?" he nearly shouts. "They're a super secret government organization specifically charged to hunt down aliens on earth!"  
"That might be true, but they're looking for a male right now."  
"AND?"  
"Winn, please, you're a genius."  
"Oh, OH!" he hits his head as it finally 'clicks'. "You mean I can hide out in the open now that I'm not longer a mister?"  
"Exactly," Kara takes his, or now her, hands in her own. "I can share some of my clothes with you until I can take you shopping. We'll have to come up with a new identity though, something completely left field from Winn Shott Jr."  
"How about a budding actor from Corpus Christi, Texas?"  
"You can't act, Winn."  
"An aspiring dancer from Burnsville, Minnesota?"  
"You get nervous with an audience!"  
"A hopeful singer from Canton, Ohio?"  
"I've never heard you sing other than that one time when you were immensely drunk."  
"That was my male voice," Winn grins. "I'm a knock out as a girl."  
"We'll see about getting you a job somewhere not CatCo related later," Kara returns the grin. "Now, what about a name?"  
"Huh," Winn scratches his/her head. "I don't know...  
Kara tries to help, "Melissa?"  
Her friend shakes his/her head.  
"How about Marie?"  
Another shake.  
"Ashley?"  
"Do you know any names a little less girly?"  
The hero thinks about that for a second. "I knew a girl in High School named Skyler."  
"Perfect," her friend smiles. "Should we have a last name too?"  
"You can pick anything for that."  
"Then I'll be..." Winn snaps his/her fingers a few times. "Skyler Jordan?"  
"Works for me," Kara shrugs. "We'll figure out a way to make a paper trail later. Right now, I need to get you a change of clothes and hide you somewhere until Skyler can come to town."  
"I'm not wearing a dress."

\---


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks after Winslow Schott Jr. disappears off the face of the planet...Skyler Jordan moves into the same apartment complex but into a different spot.

"Did you make sure to get my limited edition comic books that were in my custom made hideaway hole?" Winn asks Kara as she helps him/her move the furniture around. The new girl was sporting a plain purple cardigan over a white top with jeans, and a new pixie haircut added to the 'girlie-ness'. His/her friend roll her eyes playfully.  
"I got everything thing on the 'I cannot possibly live without these' list," Kara reminds him/her as she places the couch in the living room. "If your comics were on that list, then I got them."  
"Are you sure your DEO pals didn't see you sneaking in and out of my apartment?" Winn asks next, rubbing nervously at his/her hands as he/she looks around at the small amount of personal belongings. "Gosh, I miss all my things."  
"I'm sorry you can't have them all, Sky," Kara still feels strange saying the wrong name but powers through it. "But if your place has all of THOSE things, you know it will cause suspicion."  
"To live without them will be tough but," he/she grins. "I will prevail with my girl power!"  
Kara snorts as she starts to unpack the dinnerware. "Of course, you can like those things. You just need to hold back on your enthusiasm a little."  
"Reverting to my closet geek days should be easy enough," Winn shrugs. "The real challenge will be getting a job and supporting myself."  
"Noonan's is hiring," the hero offers as she finishes, tossing the empty box to the pile with the others. "You could be a barista!"  
Winn grimaces. "I'm not sure working in a restaurant-café type place is the best place for my particular talents."  
"It's not the best place for Winn, no," the blonde smiles sweetly. "But my new friend Sky loves meeting new people and has a cheery disposition just begging to help others with their caffeine fix."  
"I suppose it would be nice for me to help Cat's newest victim by having her regular already prepared each day," he/she relents with a knowing grin. "How many has she gone through since your promotion?"  
"Nineteen," Kara groans. "I even personally trained two of them before sicking that woman on them. How come she's being so hard on them?"  
"Because you're the best, Kara," Winn points out the obvious. "You've got to admit that a few of the things that woman asked of you might not have been done if you didn't have super powers."  
"Only a few things here or there," the blonde admits sheepishly. "But mostly, my success with Miss Grant came from hard work, determination-"  
"-And not buckling under her stern glare and biting retorts," her friend finishes for her. "Not everyone is made of steele, you know."  
"It would be nice if they were at least made of polycarbonate alloy."  
"But before I can even try to get a job anywhere," Winn frowns. "I'm going to need to get my hands on some government documents proving I exist. Which will be hard, considering I don't."  
"I could ask my sister?" Kara offers nervously.  
"I'm sorry you've been lying to her this whole time," her friend apologizes with a sad smile. "But we agreed that it would be easier for her if she didn't know."  
"You made yourself an identity on the internet easily," the hero sighs, vaguely looking around the room for something else to do. "But I'm lost for how to make a paper trail."  
"I think I figured that out."  
Winn walks over to a locked case and opens it to pull out a manila envelope. He/she pulls out some papers and shows them to Kara.  
"A birth certificate and high school diploma?" the blonde asks, looking up from the papers at her friend. "How did you get these?"  
"I can feign ignorance of the internet world and a house fire can be a great way to make the world pity you," Winn says first before explaining. "If you can sneak the files of my birth at the hospital and me attending these schools into the actual buildings, then I should have enough 'proof' to get a new social and then I can apply for a job."  
"You want me to use my powers to plant counterfeit papers?" the hero frowns. "I'm not so sure about that, Sky."  
"If anyone does a thorough background check, or calls just one of the places I'm claiming to come from, then the jig is up. They'll know I'm lying and probably assume I'm an illegal and throw me out of the country."  
"I think you're being overdramatic."  
"I'm being realistic."  
"I won't let them kick you out of National City, let alone the country."  
"Supergirl can't show up and come to my aide in this either."  
"Why not?"  
"Because," Winn sighs. "Supergirl is a friend of Winn, the missing alien."  
"Oh."  
"Exactly. These papers won't hurt anyone. Most people don't even keep very good records of their students and I picked the most obscure places I could find. They don't even have their records online."  
"Are they living in the dark ages?"  
"I know, right?" he/she shakes his/her head. "Anyway, I'll go with you to check after I've formed a distraction. You place the files, I put my name into whatever database they have. Boom! Sky exists."  
"Are you sure this is safe?"  
"Safer than hoping no one will care about who I really am."  
"Okay...I'll do it."  
"Thanks, Kara. You're the best."

\- - -

The day after Skylar 'really' joints the citizens of National City, Kara introduces her new friend to her sister, Alex.  
"So, YOU'RE the one my sister has been meeting behing my back," Alex smiles as she shakes the other woman's hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you Skylar."  
"You can call me Sky," Winn grins, nervously pulling back his/her hand as quickly as he/she can. "I love your hair."  
"Thanks," the agent quickly runs a hand through her hair to pull some of it behind her ear. "Yours is adorable. Very Audrey Hepburn."  
"Who?"  
"Sky is a little underdeveloped when it comes to your kinds of movies, Alex," Kara smiles at her friend's confusion. ""Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "My Fair Lady" don't really jive with her."  
"My parents were really strict growing up. They barely let me watch movies." Winn frowns for the next lie. "That is, before they passed away."  
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," Alex frowns in sympathy.  
"It's okay," the new girl waves off the agent's sadness. "I was old enough to take care of myself when it happened. That's one of the reasons I moved to National City. For a fresh start."

"Are those pot stickers?" Kara's attitude brightens at the food bags on the counter. "Did you make sure to get extra?"  
"With your appetite, I don't think I could ever buy enough," her sister rolls her eyes as she leads the way to the kitchen and dining room area. "By the way, how did you two meet?"  
"At an ice cream shop." Kara and Winn answer at the same time. They look to each other and then laugh nervously.  
"Wow, friends for a few days and you're already reading each other's minds," Alex shakes her head. "I'm a little jealous."  
Winn silently takes a deep, calming breath. He/she had known that meeting with the agent again would be hard, one slip up and she'd know everything, but so far everything seemed to be going well.  
"I guess some people just click," Kara shrugs, helping herself to a whole container of food. "Sky is easy to talk to."  
"Darn it," Alex frowns. "I think I left a bag of food in my car. Kara? Can you go get it for me, please?"  
'It's a trap.' Winn's mind is instantly put on alert as his/her friend nods to her sister and leaves to look for the missing munchies.  
"Sky," the agent steps closer to the techie with a worried look. "Has Kara talked to you about....Well, there's no easy way to say this, but about her friend Winn?"  
"Winn?" he/she blink, pretending to be confused. "No. I don't think so at least. Is he her boyfriend or something?"  
"He's her best friend," Alex's rubs tiredly at her forehead before continuing. "We found out that he was half alien and that the government was after him."  
"Is he dangerous?"  
"No. He's actually really sweet."  
"Then why was the government after him?"  
The agent grimaces, "Because they can't stop prejudice. He was hiding in plain sight. He looked just like everyone else."  
"Human."  
"Exactly."  
"So...What happened to him?"  
"He disappeared," Alex sighs. "She took it better than I thought she would. I think the worste part is the fact that she didn't lash out at those responsible for hunting Winn down."  
"So, you're worried that Kara ISN'T angry at anyone?"  
"I'm worried that she's hurting and isn't telling anyone about it," the sister suddenly looks much older than she is. "I know this is a lot to put on the shoulders of someone I just met, but, Kara might break down one day and I need to know that you can be there for her if she does."  
"I'll always be there for Kara," Winn assures her with a winning smile. "She's the greatest person I've ever met."  
"Thanks, Sky," Alex rubs the other woman's arm in releif. "I'm glad she met you."  
There's a lot of sencerity that Winn feels guilty about hearing in those words, but he/she is saved from having to form a reply when the blonde of discussion bursts back into the room.  
"I got them!" Kara announces, carrying the bag to the table. "It's a good thing you remembered this, Alex. There are more pot stickers!"

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little boring, I know... But my brain can be a little detail oriented and wanted a plausible way for Skylar to exist....
> 
> Hair Note (Web Reference):  
> http://www.pixie-cut.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Audrey-Hepburn-Gorgeous-Pixie.jpg


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to Kara's encouragement and Winn's willingness to work hard, 'Sky' gets the job at Noonan's. The techie is put in charge of coffees and teas. On her first day, Winn spills three drinks and apologizes more than she greets the customers.

Hanna and Ted, Winn's coworkers, are fantastic people and the trio quickly become friends. They often offer up their help and keep the customer's who's eyes linger and comments have clear second meanings at bay.

Then, three weeks in, Winn tries an experiment she's always wanted to try with two of the house blends and practically melts where she stands when she tries it.  
Someone loudly clears their throat and she opens her eyes, 'Why did I close them?', and sees a few customers and two of her coworkers staring at her.  
"Sorry," Winn mumbles, trying to hide the cup behind her back without spilling it.  
"Can I try whatever that is?" the blonde customer waiting in line asks, college student by the looks of the bags under her eyes and monogramed sweatshirt. She looks to Hanna who is managing the counter at the time. "Please? I'll pay whatever extra."  
Hanna, a petite, raven haired high school drop out and rebel, turns to her friend, "You heard the customer."  
"But, but, but," Winn swallows her fear as she glances from her coworker to the customer. "It's not on the menu."  
"It's your own fault for having a look of absolute bliss while drinking it," her friend shrugs. "I'll charge for the most expensive drink, you make another cup. Hurry now!"  
Winn automatically puts her own cup down to make another cup, instinct to survive when ordered still strong from her days as a CatCo employee.  
The blonde customer takes the cup greedily from Winn's hand after paying Hanna. She slowly sips at it and her eyes nearly roll to the back of her head. "Perfection."  
The line of customers watch the woman with raptured interest. Like drones they turn their heads to Hanna. The next customer, a man in a pale pink business suit pipes up, "I'll take one of those as well."  
"Me too!" the mother of three behind him announces, pulling her toddler closer when he tries to reach for something he shouldn't.  
"And us!" the couple at the end announces, hands still holding tightly to each other since they entered the building.  
Hanna turns a shark's smile to Winn, "You heard them, Sky." She makes a 'shooing' motion with her hands. "Get to work!"

When Ted gets back from his break, there's a line out the door.  
"What's going on?" the tall, platinum blond man asks as he puts his apron back on. "I've only ever seen this many people during finals and market changes."  
"Sky developed a new flavor," Hanna tells him as she hands out two more cups. "I'm waiting for her to decide on the name still."  
"What?" Ted, the senior worker at the restaurant and technical 'boss' of the other two, glares at the newcomer. "Who gave you permission to start mixing brews?"  
"No one! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do it, I swear!" Winn can barely spare the man a glance as she continues to make more pots of the new coffee mixture. "I just made myself something to drink and someone else wanted to try it and it spiraled out of control form there!"  
"Four more orders of the new drink!" Hanna unnecessarily calls out, smiling at Ted's glare. "Oh, come ON! We're making good money for the big boss! If he, she, or whoever wants to ax us for making them rich, then I can take my new mixing buddy somewhere else."  
Winn brings the cups over hurriedly, before rushing back to the machines to make more. "I don't want to get fired. I'm sorry. I honestly didn't mean it."  
Ted groans, rubbing at the bridge of his nose as he looks at the long line. He shakes his head as he moves both hands ot his hips. "The damage is done already. We've gotta give them what they want. How do you make this new, winners coffee?"  
"Winner's Cup! That's what we'll call it!" Hanna decides as she takes the money for the next order. "Another order of Winner's Cup, Sky!"  
"Coming right up," Winn mumbles without much enthusiasm as he pours the drink. She hands it over then turns to Ted to answer the man's question. "All I did was put two different brews together. I was only curious. I didn't know this," she motions to the line, "would happen."  
"Another three orders of Winner's Cup!"  
"You're too smart for your own good, Sky," Ted chuckles, going to the coffee bags to see what kinds his coworker was mixing. "Huh. Never would have thought of putting these two together. How does the earthy taste of one affect the super sweet tang of the other."  
"Less coffee babble, more coffee!" Hanna scolds them, pointing at Winn. "Now I need seven cups!"  
"Coming right up!" she assures the other woman, pulling cups out from under the counter after running out. "A few more seconds."  
Ted jumps right in, handing out cups and bringing more coffee when Winn runs out. Hanna remains at the counter, unable to hand over the position without risking losing their spot with which customer was first, who had ordered, and who hadn't paid yet.

They actually have to stop customers from coming into Noonan's before they're able to finish with the last customer.  
"We'll make more tomorrow!" Hanna assures the ones who can't get in before she shuts the door.  
Ted helps the stragglers inside to get out without sounding pushy, a gift he possessed and something Winn hopes she can learn from him. Kara manages to squeeze in when the last customer leaves.  
"Sky can't leave yet," Ted tells her when she frowns at the mess still littering the tables. "We had a rush on the coffee counter."  
"What happened?" Kara asks, waving to her friend when they lock eyes.  
"Skylar," Hanna announces with a dramatic wave of her arms. "our own connoisseur of coffee, enchanted them all with her concoction of caffeine."  
"Really?" the blonde beams in pride. "How? What happened?"  
"All I did was mix two brews together," Winn shrugs. "Then I drank it."  
"And practically groaned in satisfaction," his female coworker rolls her eyes. "It was disturbing to watch, then a costumer asked to try it and it spiraled from there."  
"Wow! Congratulations, Sky!"  
"Don't congratulate her yet, Kara," Ted warns the woman as he continues to wipe off the tables. "Wait to see what the higher ups think about the stunt first."  
"Always the 'doubting Thomas'," Hanna sighs. "Can't you at least pretend to be excited for our comrade in arms?"  
"We just make drinks and food for the citizens of National City," the man remarks evenly. "We're not a trio of heroes fighting crimes or making the world a better place."  
"I don't know," Kara shrugs, with a secret smile. "Without coffee, several people wouldn't be able to function. A riot could break out. The entire city could be brought to ruins!"  
Ted rolls his eyes while Hanna claps. "Give that woman a prize! She has the gift of speech!"  
"Are you done cleaning back there?" Ted asks a little angrily as he finishes cleaning the tables. "I don't want to wait around all night for you to do your job."  
"All done!" Winn announces cheerily as she walks out from behind the counter. "There was more coffee than anything and most of it was the new stuff, so it was an easy clean up."  
"Good," the 'boss' nods, he points to the door. "Now get out. I'll lock up."  
"Thanks, Teddy Bear!" Hanna blows him a kiss as she leaves the building. Winn scurries out of the building before he can be a witness to destruction of private property and Kara politely excuses herself as well.

 

"Ugh! My aching feet!" Winn complains as she removes her feet and puts them onto the coffee table. "I miss my desk. I want to go back to only running around when wires get crossed."  
Kara chuckles as she finishes preparing dinner. The two friends tried to have a meal together once a week at Winn's apartment. Just them. Tonight they were having Italian and the superhero was in charge of cooking.  
"What did you call your new brew of coffee, Sky?" Kara asks as she carries two plates of food over. "Ka-blam coffee? Powerhouse brew? Inevitability?"  
"Hanna named it Winner's Cup."  
"Interesting choice."  
"Yeah."  
They eat while they fill each other in on what is happening in the other's life.  
"Have you and James officially started dating yet?" Winn asks, smirking at the shell-shocked look from her friend before the hero masks it with a mouth full of spaghetti.  
"I duh no wa yo talkn 'bout," Kara tries to speak around her mouthful.  
"Manners, young lady!" her friend scolds playfully, pretending to swat at her to put the next forkful down. He smiles, "It doesn't bother me, you know. Not anymore at least. I know we'd never work out. And James is an OK guy."  
"Just OK?" the blonde teases, then puts down her plate. "I know, I know things between us are...."  
"Weird? Strange? Peculiar beyond normal standards?"  
"All of the above," Kara sighs. "I don't want to push all of my problems on you when you're going through enough of your own."  
"Kara," Winn lowers her tone as much as she can with a girl voice. "We are best friends. We're SUPPOSED to push our problems on each other. How else can we help the other out?"  
"But-"  
"No 'but'," she tells her firmly. "You've been helping be since near doomsday. I can handle listening to relationship problems from you."  
"But-"  
"I said no buts."  
"Win-Sky."  
"Yeah, I catch myself of that too."  
"It's not a big deal."  
"It is if you say it isn't."  
"That doesn't make any sense."  
"Neither does bottling it up."  
They stare at each other for a while. Winn patiently waits for Kara to finally break down. With a heavy sigh, the hero eventually does.  
"It started out right before Myriad...."

Winn listens as Kara goes on and on about her mixed feelings about James. How she isn't sure if she's ready to bring someone in or risk their lives when they get too close.  
How her job will put a strain on whatever they try to build and how 'marvelous' and 'sweet' and 'kind' and 'wonderful' James is but she just CAN'T tell him all that....

"Okay!" Winn throws her hands in the air to stop the next bout of worry/regret/blah her friend was spouting. Kara pauses in her pacing, she had gotten up during the bit about how 'sweet' James was, and looks to her friend.  
"Let me lay this out plainly for proper analysis," she stands as well. "You like James."  
Kara nods her head even though it isn't a question.  
"James likes you."  
Nod.  
"You want to be with James."  
Another nod.  
"James wants to be with you."  
Yet another nod.  
"But you're worried about all the bad things that could happen of you actually start to date him, right?"  
Nod number five.  
"Is it just a Kryptonian thing, or even a hero thing, to not realize how foolish that sounds?"  
The nods turns into a shake and a confused frown.  
"You can't worry about what might happen!" Winn tells her. "If you don't try things with James, NOTHING WILL happen!"  
"But, Sky," Kara protests, still frowning. "He could get hurt! What if someone like Non shows up and uses James against me?"  
"Non used James against you even when you weren't dating him," her friend points out. "Kara, you're so fantastic that the bad guys can use anyone to get to you! They could use a cat in a tree and you'd come slying to it's rescue!"  
"Not a tabby!" His friend bites her bottom lip. "But, what if it doesn't work out between us? What if we find out that we don't work?"  
"Then you part as friends," Winn smiles. "But if there's any reason for the two of you to not work, it'll be absolutely and completely James's fault."  
"I don't know."  
"Nothing will happen if nothing happens," the new barista sighs, taking her friend's hands in hers. "Not even good things can happen if you don't at least try."  
"I'm just so scared," Kara whispers, thinking too many terrible situations all at once. "Every time I think I understand my powers or my family or who I can trust, the world throws me something else to tear that apart."  
"That's just life, earthling," Winn grins. "I never expected to be queen of the Jara, or Kames, fan group."  
"Jara or Kames?" her friend frowns in confusion again. "Are those real words?"  
"It's my poor attempt at mashing your names," Winn shrugs. "The point is, if you think you like him, then give him a chance. I'll be there for you when he messes up and I actually can't wait to give him the greatest shovel talk this city has ever heard."  
That gets the hero to laugh, "That's not fair! You know him and he doesn't know who you are. You can use that to your advantage!"  
"Uh, duh!" Winn rolls his eyes. "I've gotta use what I got, girl!"  
They both burst into giggles then, holding onto each other so they don't fall while in reality they're giving and taking comfort in the other's embrace.

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me, or is it annoying to read "he/she, him/her" etc? (It's certainly more work to write it that way.) I mean, it's WINN but HE has become a SHE now, so I wasn't sure what to do.... So, from now on, I have decided that I'll use the pronoun for what Winn is. And if/when he changes back, it'll change for that as well. Sorry for the confusion. (I apologize in advance if I get the pronouns wrong in the future as well.)   
> If you're reading this and have a better idea, let me know! :)


	6. Chapter 6

'Winner's Cup' becomes Noonan's hottest item and by the third morning of the brew's appearance, James Olsen appears in the restaurant café to take pictures of the staff with a CatCo newbie to get the story.  
"Do we LOOK like we have a moment for you paparazzi bugs?" Hanna growls while trying to juggle four cups in her hands at once. She gets them to the counter, and the customers waiting, without spilling. She glares at the photographer, "Get lost!"  
"Hanna," Ted carefully moves his coworker to smiles pleasantly to the two. "I'm afraid you'll have to take your pictures while we're working and get the story in tidbits while we work."  
Winn, who was trying to hide in the back while making more coffee, chances a glance to his friend. James shrugs at the manager's statement, his face a great big smile while the tall red-head by his side frowns.  
"It'll just take a minute," the red-head assures the man. "We don't even need all of you at once. We can do it one at a time."  
"We need all hands on deck," Hanna barks over whatever Ted was going to say. She turns to Winn, "Another three cups of Winner's Cup and three breakfast biscotti's too."  
"Aye, aye!" Winn chirps, going to the display for the food to put it in the baggie first.  
"Can't you at least tell me all your names?" the reporter nearly begs. "Please! My boss is excited about whatever you guys are doing and she'll have my head if I don't get her something within the next twenty minutes."  
"Cat was only kidding when she said she'd sack you over this," James chuckles.  
"Says her top photographer who's already somehow gotten himself in her good graces," the newbie growls. She looks over to Winn, "Please?"  
Winn remembers the pressure of working for Cat Grant, all the late nights without so much as recognition for doing the job, let alone if it was any good or not. She decides to take pity on her and resigns herself to having to wash all the dishes by herself later for the treason she was about to preform.  
"I'm going for my lunch break," Winn announces, removing her apron to show how serious she was.  
"Traitor!" Hanna growls, taking the time to glare at her before resuming her work.  
"Seems only fair you give them the story, Sky," Ted smiles. "After all, you ARE the one who started all this crazy."  
"You?" the red-head's eyes go big as Winn rounds the counter. "You're how the new brew was created?"  
"It's not really a new brew, per se," Winn shrugs, smiling shyly as she takes the two to a quieter corner of the building. "I was messing around with these two brews during a five minute break..."  
She tells them the whole story, the newbie (Winn found out her name was Carol) nodding and asking the occasional question while James walked around the place taking pictures.  
The photographer returns in time to watch Carol give the barista a hug.  
"Thank you!" Carol sings, rushing out of the building. "I've got to get this to Cat!"  
"Brave girl," Winn comments with a smirk as she watches the woman maneuver her way out.  
"How do you suppose that?" James asks, turning his focus away from his coworker to the barista.  
"Calling Miss Grant 'Cat'," Winn shrugs. "I'd never do that. Too risky."  
That surprises a laugh out of the reporter. He lifts his camera up to his face.  
"Is it okay if I get a picture of you? For the story, of course."  
'NOOOO! You can't do that! You'll get in SO much trouble!' Winn frowns. "I don't know."  
"You're name's already going to be in it," James points out. "If anyone want to know what you look like, they only have to come here and see for themselves. Unless, you're thinking of quitting?"  
'Hadn't thought of that.' The barista sighs in defeat. 'Kara is not going to be happy.'  
"Okay...I guess one picture would be okay."

Having her picture put into the CatCo was not an okay decision to make.  
"SKY!" Kara shouts at her friend as she storms into her apartment. "What is this?"  
The blonde shoves her phone into the brunette's face, showing the article of 'Barista Beauty Brews Up A Storm' and featuring a smiling picture of Sky almost taking up the whole page.  
"Crap," Winn covers her eyes as if to hide from the evidence of her mistake. "Crap. Crappity. Crap. Crap."  
"What were you thinking?" her friend asks worriedly. "I thought we agreed you'd stay low profile?"  
"I was-I am!" Winn throws her hands in the air. "I didn't mean to do any of this. It's a little ridiculous when you think about it."  
"Sky," Kara groans, lowering her phone. "Do you have ANY idea what you've started?"  
"All I did was make a cup of coffee!" the brunette protests. "How on earth can that start trouble? I probably only made it in Miss Grant's magazine because I'm a girl. You know how much she likes women stepping up and doing crazy things."  
"Well, whatever the reason, she wants YOU to come to HER and have an interview!"  
"What? No. No? Why aren't you smiling like this is a joke?"  
"Because this isn't a joke," Kara frowns. "She put me to the task of bringing you in."  
"You see, saying it like that makes me think I'm going to prison."  
"You might if you get nervous around Miss Grant and start spouting things you shouldn't."  
"I've been keeping secrets all my life, Kara," Winn tries to assure her. "I think I can handle lying."  
"Lying to the average person? Oh, yeah, you got that. I will even allow the fact that you lied to me for years. But, Cat Grant?" the blonde shakes her head. "No way."  
"So what do we do?" Winn asks her. "I will not allow you to lose your job over this. It's not like she'll recognize me or give me a job. She just sees all the attention Noonan's is getting and wants to be a part of it. It's what she does."  
"You should fake sickness."  
"Forever?"  
"No! Just a few days. Until the Winner's Cup loses its popularity."  
"I can't do that to Hanna and Ted," Winn shakes her head. "I already bailed on them this afternoon to give Carol the story. PS, I didn't even pretend to be coy around your new boyfriend. I totally pretended to be just regular friendly with him."  
"We're not boyfriend and girlfriend yet."  
"You've got to be if Miss Grant's threatening your new job already."  
"She....would do that. Fine. But we're really just seeing how things go. No pressure."  
"Right," Winn rolls her eyes, then she gets serious. "Listen, I'll do the interview. You can eavesdrop on us and if I start spouting things I shouldn't you can come barging in with something urgent."  
"I can't just make something up and come barding into Miss Grant's office!"  
"Then say the urgent thing is for me. I don't care. Say my puppy was run over or something."  
"Are you sure you don't want to leave town for a few days?"  
"Like THAT is less suspicious," her friend laughs. Winn puts her hand on Kara's shoulder. "It's MY job to be the really worried one in this friendship. You're throwing me off with all this concern, Kara."  
The hero takes a breath. "You're right. I'm overreacting. You can handle this."  
"Right, right, of course," Winn nods to her head. "And if I can't, Supergirl can save me from the super secret scary government agents that'll try and hunt me down."  
"Can you change into other people? Or is it just the gender thing?"  
"Just the gender thing," the brunette shrugs. "I don't even really know how to change back. It usually happens whenever I get too flustered. You know, over pressured."  
"How did you do it before?"  
"Oh, well," Winn blushes. "After puberty, I kinda just changed back."  
"Do you want to change back some day?" Kara asks, frowning. "We've never talked about that. The DEO won't be after you forever."  
"They will be after me for a LONG time though, right?" the techie sighs. "I dunno. I'm kinda getting the hang of this girl thing. I am seriously starting to respect everything we go through."  
"But there are positives."  
"Like flirting my way into free drinks and all the nice young men who open door for me?"  
"If you can get them to notice you," the blonde smiles sadly.  
"You just let people walk over you too much," Winn grins. "Ever since I switched sides, I found a hidden strength."  
"I've noticed."  
"I think it's the girl power."  
"You're the only one who says that, Sky."  
"That's until I make it a trend. Then everyone will be saying it."  
"No! No more trends!"  
"What about the stretchy hairband bracelet?"  
"Sky."  
"What if my powers of coffee mixing overtake me and we start this all over again?"  
"Do I need to get you fired?"  
"I can barely afford this apartment as it is! Would you really put a friend out on her luck over her starting fame?"  
"I'm not sure I like this part of you."  
"Sorry, it's the three triple shot mochas I drank to get through the day."  
"Is that healthy?"  
"No."  
Kara sighs, "I'll see you tomorrow."

\---

Winn takes a sick day, apologizing profusely while Hanna curses at her from the other end of the phone.  
"I really need to help a friend out with something," Winn explains after the rebel coworker pointed out how 'UN-sick' she sounded. "Why do we have other workers if we never have them come in?"  
"We'll be fine, Sky," Ted assures her while Hanna starts mumbling her curses. "I'm sure the hype is starting to die down anyway, so there won't even be as many customers as there usually are."  
"You're just going easy on her because you have a crush!" Hanna protests mid-cursing rant.   
"Enjoy your day off," Ted ignores his other coworker completely. "You can pick up another day later, if you want. Don't strain yourself so I can see you tomorrow."  
Winn blushes at the man's lack of denial on the 'you have a crush thing' and she nervously excuses herself from the call and hangs up.  
"Easy girl," Winn tells herself as she takes a few calming breaths. She looks up to the familiar but still intimidating CatCo building and swallows the nervous lump. 'You can do this. You can do this. You can do this.'  
Positive mantra in place, the brunette goes in to either a strange experience or another terrible day to add to the terrible days of her life.

Kara meets Winn at the elevator on the mogul's floor.  
"She's expecting you," the blonde tells her, eyes darting from boss to friend nervously. "You sure you want to do this?"  
"I'm already here," Winn shrugs. "I might as well see it through."  
"Be careful," Kara whispers, moving to hug her friend but at the last second trading for an awkward pat on the shoulder. She opens one of the glass doors to let the brunette in then scurries off to find a good place to hide.  
"Skylar Jordan."  
Winn smiles nervously as Cat Grant's eyes lock onto her like an actual cat eyeing its prey. "So nice of you to come."  
"Thank you for the invitation," the brunette desperately fights the urge to stutter. "Though, I don't think that I deserve it."  
"Free pointer of the day," the woman counters with a confident smirk. "Always assume you deserve everything people offer you."  
"Humility keeps people in their right minds."  
"Weak, quiet minds that no one cares about."  
"Is that why you asked Kara to bring me here?" Winn nervously rubs her hands on the back of her jeans. "To offer me advice? Because, I could just read one of your books."  
She was SO gong to die. WHY was she acting like this? Oh, right. Because she was no longer the nervous IT guy the woman walked all over. She was just the new girl who made the right mix at the right time.  
"Snarky," Miss Grant sounds pleased. "I like that in a woman. As long as it's paired with the proper work ethic and reigned in for appropriate circumstances."  
"You almost make that sound like a job proposal."  
"Was I being too vague for you? Maybe you're not as bright as I thought you'd be."  
"What?" Winn blinks in astonishment. "What could you possibly need a barista for in your empire? You looking for a personal coffee maker or something?"  
"Or something," the woman smiles. "I am in need of a new assistant. Kara has tried, failed more than I'd like, but the poor girl doesn't know how to pluck the roses from the thorns."  
"You don't know me," the brunette points out. "I have no background in magazines or filing or even answering the phone a bunch of times."  
"I watched you working at Noonan's," Miss Grant practically preens for a moment at the younger woman's surprise. "You work well under pressure. As long as you have a set job to do." She interlaces her fingers on her desk. "I can provide such a job. With obviously better pay."  
"Kara's choices can't possibly be that terrible for you to decide to pick your next victim by hand," Winn tries to figure out the woman's play. But, just like when she worked for the woman, she can't. "Why do you really want me to work here?"  
"This self-doubt is tiresome." The amusement vanishes from the mogul's face in a second. She stands from behind her desk and walks around it. "I know potential when I see it. You are wasting yours hiding behind a counter at some café."  
"I'm flattered but-"  
"If you don't join me," Miss Grant interrupts casually. "I'll take my business elsewhere."  
"What?"  
"I'll take my daily order to another establishment," the older woman grins. "And so will my followers once they see I'm not being drawn in by your poorly named brew. Like that-!" She snaps her fingers. "Noonan's popularity dies."  
"Is that a threat?"  
"I prefer the term persuasion."  
"And if I take you up on your offer and I fail to please you?" Winn's anger flares, but she can't bare the thought of her new friends losing their jobs if what the mogul threats actually happens.  
"If you end up being a failure like the others," Miss Grant shrugs. "Then you fail. I kick you out of the empire you've already convinced yourself you don't belong in and you can go back to grinding beans."  
Winn sighs in defeat, "Fine."  
"Good," the older woman nods, rounding her desk again to get back in her chair. "I expect you to be here first thing tomorrow morning with my usual order. No milk. I want you to come up with five features you liked in the magazine this year and why you liked them, then talk to Kara about placement in the office."  
"Wait, just like that? I'm hired?"  
"I don't gawk and babble like the mainstream people," Miss Grant's attention is completely on the computer now. "I create the world that the mainstream people gawk and babble about."  
"I'll...See you tomorrow then," Winn opens the door and nearly slides out before hearing the older woman's reply. "I better."

Winn goes straight to his best friend's new office.  
"What happened?" the blonde asks, a little out of breath.  
"I'm Miss Grant's new assistant!" she blurts out, a little angry at her friend for not stepping in.  
"What? How? Why did you say yes?"  
"She threatened, in no certain words, that she'd take down Noonan's if I didn't," Winn frowns. "Why didn't you try to stop her?"  
The hero frowns, "There was a derailed train."  
"Oh..." That deflates the brunette's anger. "Yeah, that's way more horrible."  
"I'm sorry, Sky."  
"Don't think your 'I need to find Miss Grant's next servant' is over," her friend assures her. "There's no way she'll keep me on for very long. I'll probably get fired before I run out of sick days."  
"You're going to keep you job at Noonan's?"  
"I need job security. The others will hate me a little, but I'll just make breakfast for them for a few days and they'll eventually forgive me again."  
"You make them breakfast?"  
"Only when I seriously mess up."  
"I wish some of the world's problems could be solved that way."  
"We'd need a LOT of breakfast..."

\---


	7. Chapter 7

Winn's first day as Cat Grant's assistant does not go well. She forgets everything she's ever known about the woman, spills the mogul's coffee all over the floor, accidentally says a few people's names before she was supposed to know them, and ends up crying in the secret Supergirl meeting room over a candy bar; which is the only thing she remembered to bring for food.

Kara finds her friend fifteen minutes after she disappears from their boss's office. She comes bearing the gift of pizza.

"You're a really great friend," Winn mumbles around a mouthful of food. "I'm just going to collect myself and quit. I texted my resignation to Ted. I think I'm better suited as a fast food server."  
"Sky," Kara sighs as she takes a seat next to her friend. "You can't just up and quit everything because you had one bad day."  
"It's only been half a day," Winn reminds her as she takes another piece of pizza. "One miserable, horrible, shouty day that I won't survive. I wish I could just work with computers again. I want to work in a secret lab, creating things for you to help stop the bad guys."  
Kara sits quietly by her friend while she eats. Then she lets out a breath and turns to fully face her. "I think that you can."  
"What?" Winn pauses, with her latest piece halfway to her mouth. "I can what?"  
"You can work with computers again."  
"I thought you said that was impossible," the brunette puts the piece back down fully. "We agreed that I should lie low. Be another person."  
"But if that makes you unhappy, then what's the point in living?" Kara takes her friend's hand. "Miss Grant said some really inspiring things to me today. She told me I should stop waiting by the ocean of life and just dive in. No matter what you do, or how you change on the outside, you're still Winn. You're still my dorky, movie referencing friend who enjoys helping others and being a wonderful person."  
"What are you saying?" Winn blinks away any thoughts of a hopeful future. He can't believe what his friend might be telling him.  
"I think you should come work for the DEO."  
"What?" Now she really thinks her friend has lost it. "The very same people who were trying to HUNT ME DOWN?"  
"Hush!" Kara puts a hand up to stop her friend from shouting. "Yes, them."  
"Who are you?" Winn nervously pulls her hands out of the blonde's and steps away. "Are you a clone? A double? Are you wearing a mask?" She gasps, "Is the pizza poisoned?!"  
"Winn," the hero hisses as she gets to her feet as well. "Stop it! You KNOW who I am."  
"Do I? Do I really?"  
"Let me finish, then you can freak out some more. Okay?"  
"Fine, but I'm staying over here," Winn takes another step closer to the door. "Just in case you end up being an evil double who is trying to kill me."  
Kara rolls her eyes and flops back on the couch.  
"Alex and Hank have been talking with the DEO leaders and they've created a safe-haven protocol for peaceful aliens."  
Winn's eyebrows race for her hairline, "What? Really? Why-How did that happen?"  
"My sister felt bad about what happened," Kara's eyes glisten a little. "She hasn't been the same since you left. She keeps blaming herself and pushing herself in the field. J'onn has been worse, in his own way. He's the Martian Manhunter, the on-scene leader of the DEO and not even half human. Allowing the people he worked for hunt down an innocent man didn't sit well with him at all." The hero stands as her friend lets the facts sink it. "That blonde agent? He was fired for going after you."  
"He-He was?" Winn finally lets himself start thinking that the world doesn't hate him after all. "Not that I wanted that, the guy was just going his job, but he's gone? For real?"  
"For real," Kara nods with a smile. "So much has been changing over the passed few weeks. There's a new Senator coming to office who's slogan is 'Peace that's Galaxies Wide'. I think she's going to be amazing."  
"Senator Hope," the techie laughs, then she frowns again. "But, how do we do this? I just show up as Sky and say, 'Hey guys! It's me!' and expect them to believe it? I don't think it's actually a good thing for them to know of my ability. Just in case they all start hating on aliens again."  
"That's a good point," Kara puts a hand to her chin in thought. "You're sure you don't know how to change back on your own?"  
"I've never tried," Winn shrugs. "I guess...I could...Try?"  
"Just give it some thought," the hero pats her friend gently on the shoulder. "It's a lot to take in. If you still want to go with the burger flipping plan in the end of the day...I'll understand."  
"You're the best, Kara."

 

"SKYLAR JORDAN!!!" rings out loud and clear throughout the office before Winn even reaches the right floor. She cringes as she gets off the transport. Not being connected to Noonan's will hopefully keep her friends, and her employer, safe. In the long run, Winn doesn't really (not deep, deep down inside) think that her boss would try taking down another's business for something as petty as a job refusal.  
"Yes, Miss Grant?" Winn asks as pleasantly as she can when she returns.  
"How long will your wound licking sessions last?" the woman remarks as she violently signs a paper on her desk. She looks up to her assistant with a glare, "I need to know how useless you'll be so that I can decide whether you're worth keeping."  
'Well, since I'm quitting.' Winn takes in a deep breath to ready her nerves before speaking.   
"Everyone is worth something," she tells her boss, surprising the woman as much as herself that it comes out extremely confident. "No one will ever meet your standards, because you hold them purposely higher than a person can reach."  
"Well, well," the mogul removes her glasses to look the young lady over. "Someone went away and found her fire."  
"I'm quitting, Miss Grant," Winn tells her, inwardly cheering for herself when she surprises the woman. "I don't need this job. I didn't even want it. You wanted me here but I'm done after day one. I've also resigned from Noonan's. Not because I fear what you'll do to them, but because it's also not the job I want." She smiles a little bigger, "I know what I am. I know what I can do. I won't waste my life doing things that change me. I won't live in fear anymore."  
Miss Grant gets up from her seat and approaches the younger woman. Winn suddenly loses her gusto when the woman stands right in front of her, eye narrowed into threatening strips that feel like they're peeling the skin right off her face.  
"It's a shame to lose someone with a real fire in her gut," Cat smiles -Actually smiles!- at Winn. "If you ever change your mind, you know where I am."  
With that the mogul walks out of her office, leaving her ex-assistance gasping for breath.

 

Kara and Winn celebrate with their favorite foods and binge watching their favorite movies.  
"I can't believe you said all that to Cat Grant!" Kara repeats before popping a pot sticker into her mouth. "You were amazing!"  
"I'm glad you thought so," Winn laughs, reaching for the soda. "I was falling apart on the inside. I was liable to faint!"  
"Well, you made it," the hero smiles, nudging her friend lightly in the shoulder with her own. "Do you know what you're going to do next?"  
"I'm going to try my hand at being a hobo," the techie jokes. She lets out a heavy breath. "I don't know. I think I'm going to try changing back. Then we can surprise your sister with my 'dramatic return' and see how things go from there."  
"If they try anything with you, they'll have me to deal with," Kara says seriously. "And my cousin. He's totally on our side with this."  
"Thanks," Winn smiles, then downs the soda.  
"Woah there, girlie!" the hero laughs. "You're going to explode with carbonation!"

\---


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Alex finds her sister passed out next to her newest friend in the middle of a garbage mess. She rolls her eyes as she closes the door with purpose.   
The slam wakes the two women in the room.  
"Don't lock me away!" Winn shouts, a pepperoni stuck to the side of her face as she looks around for the source of the noise.   
"Good morning ladies!" the agent says too loudly as the pair focus on her. She puts her hand on her hips. "You have a good night? Get plenty of 'rest'?"  
"Alex," Kara smiles goofily at her sister. "When did you get here?"  
"Just now," her sister shakes her head. "You know, this reminds me of the first sleep over you and Winn had." The smile drops from the agent's face immediately. "Oh, sorry, Kara. I didn't mean to..."  
Alex shakes her head sadly as she looks away with a pained expression. Winn clears her throat and gets to her feet.  
"Was there something you needed, Alex?" one brunette asks the other as she starts to clean up the mess. "You need your sister for something? Because she's got to hurry up if she doesn't want to be late for work."  
Kara gasps, "What time is it?!"  
"About...nine-thirty?"  
"Snapper is going to kill me!" the hero shouts, largely stepping over the mess before breaking out into a run for the door. As she runs out the door, she shouts, "See you later, Sky!"  
"Bye," Winn waves half-heartedly even though her friend is long gone. She yawns as she tosses the first pile of trash. Before returning to the mess, she turns to her guest, "Not that I want to sound rude, but, is there something I can do for you Alex?"  
"What?" the agent raises her head. "Oh! No, I was just wondering where my sister was. Not that I don't trust her or anything, but she usually texts me about what she's up to and she didn't last night, so, you know..."  
"Makes sense," Winn shrugs, going for another pile of trash. When she sees the still hurt look on the other brunette, she decides to try to alleviate some of the guilt she knows the other harbors. It WAS unfounded, after all. Even if the agent didn't know that yet.  
"Uhm, Alex?" the techie says carefully after trashing another garbage pile. "Can I? Can I tell you something?"  
"Uh, sure," Alex shrugs, forcing a smile on her face.   
"You should stop blaming yourself for what happened to Winn," she tells her with a kind smile. "I know he wouldn't want you to."  
"I know but-" the agent stops, her eyes becoming guarded as she looks the other woman over. "What has Kara been telling you? Why do you think I blame myself for the government going after him?"  
'Right. Not supposed to know about her super secret job. Great job, Winn!' The techie forces some sort of smile to remain instead of grimacing about her own stupidity.  
"You know how sisters are," Winn shrugs. "The ones not involved in things that harm the other blame themselves about it."  
"Sky," Alex says the name like a warning. "What did Kara tell you?"  
'I am so dead for this later.' Winn sighs, "You work for the same government unit that chased down Winn." When the agent's face drops to something of anger/depression, the techie quickly adds, "But she doesn't blame you! I know you had nothing to do with what happened. You probably didn't even know until it was too late, right?"  
"I was out in the field checking what I thought was 'credible intelligence' concerning a possible alien landing," Alex sighs tiredly. "I should have known it was a ploy to get me out of the way. They knew my connection to him through my sister and wanted me out of the way. I was so stupid!"  
The agent's fist hits the counter harshly and Winn winces because she knows it must have hurt.  
"What about your boss?" Winn knows she's pushing her luck, but knowing the mentality from the source will help ease her worries about revealing herself to them. "Did he-she-What did the boss think of all this?"  
"Our boss was with me on the op, the mission," the agent clarifies. "He was really angry when he found out." She huffs a short laugh. "He threatened to show them what a real alien threat was like if they did it again."  
"I can't imagine that helping much," the techie still appreciates the sentiment. "I'd have thought he'd be more even tempered."  
"Most of the time," Alex shrugs. She makes contact with Winn. "Kara was right. You are really easy to talk to."  
Winn grins, "It's one of my best attributes." She points to her head. "Human sound board."  
The agent laughs.

 

That night, the wind blows hard against the windows, threatening to shatter them. Winn spends the night at the apartment of her best friend and sister 'just in case of a power outage'.   
"We can huddle for warmth," the techie offers with a strange smile.  
Kara opens her doors wide for her friend and Alex ends up camping out at work when the storm becomes too severe to travel in.

\---


	9. Thor & Loki - Part 1

Winn wakes on the couch to sunny skies, as if the storm never happened.  
Kara offers her friend a hurried hello before rushing out the front door. The techie rolls over for two more hours before actually pulling herself from sleep.

The bright skies and promise of a good day draw Winn out of the house to clear her head. She still doesn't know what to do with her life now. The possibilities are floating just above her consciousness and she can't seem to pull one down that will stick.

As Winn walks passed a bank, the alarm goes off and three masked robbers come running out, large guns in their hands as onlookers scream and move out of their way.  
Winn tries to move away but gest shoved by someone else and ends up at one of the robber's feet.  
"Get outta my way, girlie!" the masked man shouts, the barrel of the gun in the brunette's face.  
Winn is frozen on the ground, staring up at the barrel as her arms shake where they're being held in front of herself defensively.  
"Imma shoot you!" the man threatens, pushing the gun in closer.  
"I think not villain!"  
The robber flies out of the way, something pushing at his body from the center sending him far away from the brunette.  
Winn's eyes search out the voice of her savior and stares at the caped man standing just a few feet away. The 'something' from before flies from the robber and to the stranger's hand. Winn's mouth gapes open a little larger when she sees that it's a hammer. A man in a CAPE just saved her with a MAGIC FLYING HAMMER!?!  
"Now, gentlemen," the caped man smiles at the two other robbers who are still recovering from the shock of their fellow thief being abused by a tool on steroids. "Drop your ill gotten gains and flee, before you gain the same treatment of your friend."  
"Shoot him!" one of the two shouts, raising his gun. The hammer goes flying again, knocking the gun upwards as the stranger charges the robbers. He has them down in out in moments, the hammer flying back to his hand as he poses with his back to Winn.  
"Hu-Who?" Winn blinks as the stranger approaches her. "Who ARE you?"  
"I am Thor!" the man laughs out his own name, hand extended downwards to help Winn to her feet. The stranger almost makes the brunette go flying when he pulls her up. "I am here on a quest to find my brother, Loki. Have you heard of him?"  
Winn's eyes widen at the name 'Loki'. How many people with that name could there be? Loads, right? From another planet, because MAGIC HAMMERS are definitely NOT a man made thing. Not to the techie's mind at least. Could Lord Technologies have created them?  
"Are you all right?"  
Winn shakes her head as she pulls her hand out of the strangers. The man frowns as he looks her over. Even the growing crowd seems to have an interest in the brunette now.  
"I'm fine. Thanks-Thank you for saving me!" Winn knows she's being a little too peppy, but the shock of possibly meting her alien uncle is throwing her for a loop. "You, uh, Loki? That's an unusual name, right? You don't-There aren't a lot of people from your planet that have that name...Right?"  
The man laughs, loud and boisterous with his head tilted back. He smiles down at the brunette, "I have yet to come across another with the name, no. Would be an interesting thing. Why? Have you met such a person?"  
"No," Winn answers honestly.  
"Hands up!" The police slowly approach them, guns raised as they nervously size the stranger up. "Sir! Put down your...Hammer!"  
"He's a good guy!" Winn instantly tries to assure them. "He saved me from them!" She points to the still unconscious robbers.  
"It's true!" someone shouts from the crowd.  
"He's still an alien!" another shouts out angrily.  
"Another hero of National City?" an officer from the back says in amazement. "How many of you people are there?"  
"Greetings defenders of this world!" the cape-wearing stranger raises his hand to the officers. "I am Thor! I come from another dimension. I am here in search of my brother, Loki. Have any of you seen any unorthodox men with raven hair traveling amongst you?"  
"Buddy, we get all kinds here nowadays," one of the officers says as he holsters his weapon. He motions to robbers that his coworkers are approaching. "You really knock those guys out?"  
"Twas nothing but a disagreement," Thor smiles. He puts a hand on Winn's shoulder. "They took that which was not theirs, then threatened the life of this young maiden. I was merely doing my job as a warrior."  
As the robbers are put into the patrol cars, the DEO arrive. Fear spikes in Winn's heart as she takes a step back. Thor frowns, his hand still on her shoulder, and he glares at the approaching agents.  
"Sky?" Alex steps in front of the agents clearing the scene. "What are you doing?"  
"This young lady was under duress," Thor answers for the brunette. "Are you the leaders of this world's protection?"  
"We keep it safe, yes," the agent answers, gun still pointed to the man. "What planet are you from?"  
Supergirl arrives then, arms open in case she needs to rush the stranger to get her best friend back.  
"I am from Asgard," Thor says proudly. "I do not mean your people any harm. I am merely trying to retrieve my brother and take him home. I am a warrior, not a destroyer."  
"Who's your brother?" Kara asks, looking at Winn to see if she was okay.  
The techie winces when the newcomer repeats the name, "Loki."  
The hero's eyes grow. 

"What's going on?" Alex asks, lowering her weapon as she watches her sister stare at the newcomer in shock. "Supergirl?"  
"I-Right! We." the hero clears her throat. "Thor? Do you think it would be possible for you to follow us to our office?"  
"Of course!" the man booms, finally lifting his hand off of Winn's shoulder. He motions with his hammer, "Lead the way!"

 

The DEO agents carefully guide Thor to their city location. Supergirl secretly convinces her sister to allow her new friend to come as well. Claiming to 'tell her everything' once they were somewhere more private.

"Okay, Mr. Thor," Alex addresses the man once she has him in a large interrogation room. "Why don't you start by telling us what your brother looks like and why you're after him?"  
"Of course," the man puts his hammer down. When an agent tries to remove it from the room, it doesn't budge.  
"Sorry," Thor smiles at the man. "Mjolnir can only be wielded by myself."  
"Who names their hammer?" Winn muses aloud where she's standing next to Kara.  
"You named your laptops."  
"Yeah, but that was only to tell them apart."  
Thor continues his explanation, "My brother, Loki, is tall and far less built than myself. His hair is raven and he has eyes of a liar. He has tried to rule my own planet and enslave another. His need for power drives him into trickery. He cannot be trusted."  
"So, you're here to save us from him?"  
"I am here to bring him home before he can cause any destruction or pain, yes."  
"I knew it," Winn mumbles, walking away from the double sided glass. Kara follows after him. "I can't win with fathers. No matter what I do, I get the psycho killer ones. Fate hates me. I knew I didn't want to meet him. I just KNEW it."  
"Winn," the hero turns her friend to stop him from walking any further. "This doesn't change who YOU are. You're still a wonderful person. There's still the possibility that this Loki isn't the one we're looking for."  
The glass door entrance of the DEO explodes, the glass shattering inwards as the agents take cover. Supergirl covers her friend and herself with her cape and arms.  
A man in black, green, and gold colored clothes walks into the room a long, golden scepter in his hands. He scans the place over with his eyes before they settle on Winn.  
"Hello," the man says, voice a whisper over the sudden silence of the room. "I am Loki."  
Winn's cheeks start to heat up.

Supergirl stands protectively in front of Winn as the man walks closer towards them. Thor and Alex come running into the room as the other agents either flee from the room or point their weapons at the stranger.  
"Loki!" Thor's voice booms, confirming the man's identity. "I find you at last!"  
"Brother," Loki turns dark eyes to the man. "You would follow me beyond the gates of hell to make my life more difficult, wouldn't you?"  
"I would do all that is necessary to stop you from harming anyone else!" the blonde barks angrily. "I thought you had changed! I thought that your lies had come to an end! I mourned for you!"  
"You mourned for the weakling you wished me to be!" Loki snaps back. He turns his focus back to Winn. "You never saw me for the greatness I could be."  
The heat is covering Winn's body now. There's a tightness in her chest that she can't control and she knows she'll buckle under the pain soon.  
"Kara," Winn forces out as she slowly gets to her knees. Her friend turns her head back and alarm shows clear on her face. "I...can't...I'm so...sorry."  
The world around her fades away as her ears ring and her vision goes dark.  
There is more shouting, the new voices mixing with familiar ones as the world heats up unbearable around Winn. She thinks she hears a desperate cry from Kara, but she can't tell.  
Then, almost faster than the last time, the heat stops. It feels like cool air is surrounding him now and he feels so sore. Everything hurts, from the tips of his hair to the ends of his toes.  
Winn knows that 'it' is finished. He has changed again. But this time, it wasn't in private. It was in front of several witnesses. People he knew. More he didn't.  
Winn opens his eyes.


	10. Thor & Loki - Part 2

Loki is leaning over him, hands hovering over his body and he's blue.  
"Blue?" Winn says in surprise as he stares at his father. "You turn blue?"  
"You do as well, my son. During the change," the man smiles almost fondly at him. "Though, I had not known you would inherit the Jötunn gene for such an ability until just recently."  
"Wait," Winn pushes the man's hands away as he sits up. His father shifts into a normal skin tone. "You knew about me?"  
Loki nods.  
"And you just...LEFT me here?" the techie angrily gets to his feet, not caring when the world tilts the wrong way as he does so. Supergirl is at his side before he can falter, a strong arm holding up his weak one as they both glare at Loki.  
"I thought you'd be safer here," the man explains, rising regally to his feet. He glances back to his brother who is still staring in shock at them. "I am an unwanted creature in many realms. I have been fooled, trapped, tortured, imprisoned..." He looks sadly to his son. "I did not want that for you. This realm was safer for you."  
"Safer?" Winn repeats incredulously. "Do you have ANY idea how many times our earth was almost destroyed?"  
"You have a champion who has thwarted such attempts," Loki calmly retorts.  
"Loki!" Thor snaps out of his shock with a shout. "What is the meaning of this? Why do you claim this mortal to be your offspring? Such a thing is impossible!"  
"You saw for yourself, dear brother," a sneer curls the corner of the man's lips as he looks back to the other newcomer. "You know of what I am. You saw of what this boy is. He is my blood. You will not dare to claim otherwise."  
"But...How? When?" the blonde blinks, eyes darting back and forth from his brother to his newly discovered nephew.  
"Time and space, move differently amongst the realms," Loki explains as if he is talking to a small child. "I cannot begin to put it into words your feeble mind would comprehend."  
Alex approaches Winn and Kara, hand on her weapon but keeping it holstered. She looks at the two, her expression guarded.  
"Winn?" the agent asks, her voice tremoring in something akin to fear.  
"Sorry, Alex," the techie grimace-smiles at all the pain he knows he caused the woman. "I didn't want you to know because I didn't want you to get in trouble for knowing where I really was. Keeping you in the dark was the best way to keep you safe."  
His own words 'click' something in his brain and Winn looks to his father in a new light. "To keep people safe..."  
Loki nods to him. "Some times the best course of action, is to remain out of their lives."  
"Wait," Alex shuffles her feet as she gathers her question. "Was Winn able to resist Myriad because he shared DNA of a being from another realm?"  
"I may have stayed out of his life," Loki speaks up. "But that does not mean I did not watch over him. I laid a spell here," he points to Winn's head. "To guard his mind from those who would pervert it."  
"Woah, now I'm hexed?" Winn's heart starts beating double time. "You put some sort of mojo on my mind? Is that why I'm smart? Is it a magic trick?"  
"What you have in your mind is yours and yours alone," his father tells him. "What I have done merely protects what is there."  
"Oh, well, that's...Good? I guess, yeah," Winn shrugs, unknowing what to say next.  
J'onn steps into the group next, addressing Loki with a stern frown, "If you intended to remain out of Mr. Shott's life, why are you here now?"  
Loki's expression darkens, "I feared I may be falling towards my final days. I needed to see my son for myself."  
"Are you sick or something?" Winn asks, looking the man over for any signs of injury or illness.  
"No, my son," the man smiles at him. "There is a battle coming. One I may be part of. Endings of such things are never known. I barely lasted the last one."  
"You escaped just fine," Thor grumbles. "Faking your death to come slinking into an innocent's life."  
"I did not intend for my thick headed brother to follow me," Loki grimaces. "I fear our reunion will be spoiled by his presence."  
"Why does he hate you?" Winn asks lowly so his uncle can't hear them.  
His father's expression blanks. "I have...wronged him. On more than one occasion. The problem with family, is that it does not understand when pain cannot be explained."  
"I don't," Winn shrugs. "I don't understand that. Sorry."  
"That is fine. It is not your battle to fight."  
"Enough, Loki," Thor raises his hammer to point at his brother. "You have seen the boy, now leave him in peace. Let us return to Asgard where you will await trail for your crimes."  
"Now, hold on a second," Kara speaks up as the angry man approaches. "You can't just come barging in to our realm and take away whomever you want. This is not your world. You have to abide by our laws."  
"Supergirl's right," Alex joins her sister. "Winn has every right to talk with his father if he wants to. You can't just drag Loki away."  
"You do not know the damage his trickery will cause," Thor tries to explain. "Nothing he says can be trusted!"  
"We will take that into consideration," J'onn joins the two women. "But in the mean time, I would suggest you take a moment to calm down and collect yourself, Mr. Thor."  
The triumphant grin Loki sends to his brother is not missed by his son.  
"I think I need to lie down now," Winn says, walking away and hoping no one will shoot him as he finds a bathroom.  
Supergirl follows after him, keeping the agents at bay with a raise hand as she guides her best friend somewhere private to talk.

 

The second the door to the bathroom closes, Winn starts to hyperventilate.  
"Breathe," Kara puts a comforting hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Take a moment. Take a breath. Just...let things sink in for a minute. Okay?"  
"I'm a-I'm," Winn swallows. "I'm having a hard time holding back the excitement that wants to overlay my common sense's fear."  
"Okay..." the hero tilts her head in confusion. "Uh, do you want to...Talk it through?"  
"No-I mean, thanks, but," the brunette huffs out a frustrated breath. "That's not really gonna help. I think things are pretty self-exclamatory."  
"Like the fact that your new uncle and long lost father hate each other?" Kara smiles. "That doesn't exactly mean the end of the world! Loads of family members hate each other. It's just what families do."  
"Ni, but you see," Winn pulls away from his friend's touch to start pacing. "Normal families only have to worry about disapproving in-laws, or, surprise horrible boyfriends with tattoos and piercings, or, overbearing mothers who push their kids off of cliffs to make them do better, or-"  
"Winn," his best friend cuts in. "I know this is hard, but you and I are far from normal. And that's not a bad thing!" She adds with a bright smile. "You accepted me as Supergirl without a problem and I accept you as you are now." The hero moves to stand in front of her friend, a hand on each of his shoulders. "You've just got to accept yourself and who your family is. You don't want to have regrets later. Just try talking to them. Hopefully with less shouting."  
"Right. You're right. I can-I already have, but," Winn blows out another breath before nodding. "Yeah, I've got this. I just-I just had to collect my thoughts is all." He shrugs, "You know. Get my act together and...stuff."  
"Of course," Kara smiles, moving to open the door for the brunette, "You ready for round two?"  
Winn shakes his head but then he shrugs again, "All or nothing, right?"

 

There are people cleaning up the glass and repairing the door while Thor glares at his brother from across the round command table, Alex and J'onn on either side's middle to keep the men separated. Several DEO agents are surrounding them as well, but their weapons are put away.  
Winn walks up to his father who turns to him with a small smile.  
"Are you alright, my son?" Loki asks gently as the brunette awkwardly tries to figure out how he wants to stand.  
"I have a name," the techie tells his father. "It's Winnslow-Actually, it's Winn. My mother picked it out. Do you-?" He clears his throat nervously. "Do you remember her?"  
"I do," the stranger nods. "She was very kind to me."  
Thor makes a noise as if offended but doesn't comment.  
"Great! I mean," Winn looks away like a frightened child. "That's nice to know. I'm glad she wasn't just a...fling or-Okay, do you ALL have to watch this?"  
The brunette looks to the agents in the room before turning to J'onn and Alex.  
"We're only here for your protection," J'onn says, almost sounding defensive. "The DEO knows nothing about these people, the world, or the 'realm' they live in."  
"They're still considered hostile," Alex adds, definitely sounding defensive.  
"What about the goon squad?" Winn jerks his head at the extra agents. "Not that I hate you guys," he tells them with a forced smile. "I just don't like hashing personal things out with strangers."  
"We could use one of the debriefing rooms instead, couldn't we?" Kara asks. "The agents can guard it from the outside."  
"Fair enough," J'onn nods his head. "This way, everyone."

The DEO head leads everyone to a glass room for more privacy.  
Alex, Kara, Thor, and J'onn are the only ones not asked to leave.

"Winnslow," Loki puts his scepter on the table as he takes a seat on the edge of it. "What is it that I can answer for you? What sorts of curiosity lies within the very core of your mind?"  
"First off, why do you speak like you belong in another era?"  
"It's just the way I was raised."  
"Where was that again?"  
"Asgard," Loki's smile tilts downwards at the corners. "I thought it was my home. I thought the man who raised me was my father." He looks down at his hands. "I was wrong. I was nothing more than an imitation of a son to him. I was never loved by him at all."  
"That is NOT true!" Thor protests loudly, slamming his hammer-less fist on the table and shaking it.  
"Easy there," J'onn warns the man. "If you can't keep your peace, you'll have to leave."  
"The man my mother married thought I was his son too," Winn says quietly, earning everyone's attention. "We spent years together acting like twins. I wanted to be just like him."  
"How did you know he was not your father?" Loki asks just as quietly.  
"My mother told me," the brunette smiles sadly. "She was dying and, I suppose, she didn't want to take the secret with her to the next life."  
"I see," his father nods his head. "And, what did you think? How old were you?"  
"Old enough," Winn states. "It drove the man I thought was my dad insane. He killed people," he turns wet, angry eyes to his father. "He wanted ME to kill people."  
"I am sorry," Loki says, putting a hand over Winn's. "I have a connection with you, but it is very weak. It spans beyond our realms but it is imperfect. I had no way of knowing you were in such pain."  
"Why did you leave? Why did you even come?"  
"You know why I left."  
"Then tell me why you came!"  
"Because I had to get away!"  
"Away from what?"  
"From a life of lies!"  
Loki closes his eyes as his voice raises too high and the tone snaps. Thor's tight hold of his hammer loosens as his brother takes a deep breath.  
"I fell from the heavens and drifted through the fabric of time, space and realms," Loki explains. "I fell at the feet of your mother, ravenous and afraid. I had no powers in this world at the time. I was too weak." He lets out a light laugh. "She kept me in the attic amongst bolts of cloth and knitting she never got to."  
"Mom hated knitting," Winn supplies automatically. "My grandmother forced her to take all her supplies when she couldn't hold a needle anymore."  
"I soon gained enough strength to leave. I wanted to go so badly. I wouldn't fathom taking over a world that I was not within the reaches of my brother."  
"You could have tried to take this place, but you would have been stopped," Alex says confidently.  
"This is perhaps true," the man allows. "But the point remains that I was destined to leave. Without knowing it, I was being drawn away by my next task master."  
"Do you mean...The people who tortured you?" Winn asks worriedly.  
His father nods. "I would soon fall for their trap. One that promised the victory I assumed I needed, but their words turned sour to the tongue and intentions proved rotten at the core."  
Loki makes a circular motion with his hand and an image of Winn's mother appears as if she were a projected hologram.  
"Your mother begged me to stay," the man says, admiring the image. "She pleaded and promised and vowed all she could to give me every opportunity to stay. She even offered to break off her engagement to your father," he turns to Winn. "I could not allow her to do that. I knew my sins and their plenty. I did not wish that for her. I made her stay."  
"But not before you got her pregnant," Winn states, shocking the others with his brusque tone.  
"Yet another sin to add to my count," his father allows with a duck of his head. "I am still not the man I should be. My heart is tainted with the greed and hatred of my mind. I desire a throne I feel entitled to. I need recompense."  
"When have you been wronged?" Thor growls. "What have you been slighted?"  
"The throne of Asgard was never going to be handed to me and you know it," Loki snaps back, getting off the table to point an accusing finger at his brother. "Father thought of only you to take that place. Even when you were the scorn of a warrior! He would readily chose you over me. Because, deep down, he knew only one of us was truly Odin's son!"  
"Enough!" J'onn snaps at the two strangers. "You two need to get over this squabble now. I've heard enough of the same stuff for one day. I can hardly imagine it getting any better the more time you spend shouting at each other."  
"If you only knew what Loki has done-!"  
"That is not what concerns me here," J'onn steps into the man's space. "Not now. Not for the reasons he has come smashing his way into my facility."  
"My aunt," Supergirl steps in. "She thought she knew what was best for her people. She caused," she struggles for a moment for the right word, "problems. For a lot of people. On both my earth and this one. But in the end," she smiles. "We both forgave each other. Now, I'm not saying whatever Loki did was an okay thing but," she motions to between the two men. "Don't you think you can forgive one another? For Winn's sake?"  
"For my son I would move the heavens," Loki states plainly, eyes stuck fast on his brother.  
Thor puts down his hammer and sighs.  
"Once more will I hold my hand out to you in peace, brother," the man states solemnly. "But if for a moment you go against these people, so help me..."  
"I understand," Loki nods to him, eyes returning to his son once more. "Now...What about this earth can you tell me, Winn?"  
Winn smiles, "A lot."

\---End---

**Author's Note:**

> I should've stopped. I know I should've. But I'm a crazy person. So I couldn't....Until I did.....
> 
> I KNOW the ending leaves MUCH to be desired, but I'm grasping at straws and I just need to stop.
> 
> This didn't end up how I envisioned it to. There was a totally other direction it was supposed to go...I just don't know what happened. (Probably just TOO, too much time away from it.) I'm sorry. Thanks for reading anyway. ^_^
> 
> [*I own nothing.*]


End file.
